Jaipur, November 30
Young Virat Kohli will be the cynosure of all eyes as a new-look India seek to continue the team's dominating run at home in the current calendar when they take on New Zealand in the second cricket one-dayer here tomorrow.

In the absence of the creme de la creme of Indian cricket, the dashing right-hander from Delhi gave enough indication of why he is the one to look for in future with a match-winning century in the opening match in Guwahati.

With regular stars such as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh being rested for the first two one-dayers, Kohli stole the limelight with a fine hundred that paved the way for India's 40-run win in the series opener.

The young Kohli, going through a dream run having scored two back-to-back tons in Ranji Trophy apart from his second successive ODI century, would be keen to bat the way he has been doing of late at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium tomorrow.

India have a good record at this venue winning six out of 10 matches, the last being a humdinger against South Africa in February when the hosts won by one run.

India have lost just one match -- against South Africa on February 27 -- in the two series it has played at home in 2010.

India won the series against the Proteas 2-1 and pipped Australia 1-0 in the rain-hit series in October.

Going into the second one-dayer against the Kiwis, what would also keep the momentum in India's favour, is that both Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum are still doubtful starters for tomorrow's match.

The New Zealand skipper is suffering from a sore back, after shouldering the bulk of bowling responsibilities in the three-match Test series, and Mclluum is also down with a similar condition.

Runs from Yuvraj Singh's blade in the first match were also a welcome sight for the Indian camp.

The southpaw, who was recently demoted to contract B by the BCCI, was not at his flamboyant best but still managed to score 42 valuable runs, often employing the sweep against the slow bowlers to good effect.

Stand-in captain Gautam Gambhir, coming on the back of a decent Test series, looked solid as long as he was there at the crease in the first match.

And, with this being the last home series before the upcoming World Cup, the left-hander would be keen to spend as much time in the middle as possible.

Keeping the scoreboard ticking during powerplays and accelerating in the death were areas of concern in the first match and are something the hosts would like to improve upon in the next match.

India nearly gave it all away by losing their last six wickets for just 26 runs after Kohli, in the company of Yuvraj, laid a solid platform.

A cameo from Yusuf Pathan down the order, however, helped the hosts set New Zealand a challenging target.

As far as bowling is concerned, India, like in the first match, would again look to their spinners, especially Ravichandran Ashwin to stem the flow of runs in the middle overs on a strip that can be called more than decent.

The Chennai Super Kings off-spinner bowled beautifully inside the powerplays and picked up three important wickets, including that of Ross Taylor who top-scored for the visitors with a well-compiled 66.

S Sreesanth deserves special mention for picking up three wickets, but Ashwin and Yuvraj's contributions with ball were no less important in the context of the match.

Apart from team composition and form, what could play a crucial role is the dew factor. So, the team winning the toss would, in all probability, opt to bowl first as gripping the ball becomes difficult when the dew comes into play in the second session, at this time of the year.

For New Zealand, it was a case of so near yet so far in the series opener. The Kiwis were in with a chance at one stage but the wicket of stand-in skipper Taylor at a crucial juncture, seemed to have changed the course of the match.

It was no surprise that Taylor later regretted his shot selection. Nothing would boost the visitors more than the return of Vettori and McCullum, but if today's net session was any indication, the two still looks doubtful.

The team management though, boosted by the appointment of former England coach Duncan Fletcher as its full-time coaching consultant, has its fingers crossed.

Fletcher, who has just joined the squad, has been hired by New Zealand Cricket (NZC) in a bid to 'keep the environment fresh' within the team. — PTI

New Delhi, November 30
There is an undercurrent of tension in sports circles in Hyderabad as those "outsiders", whom they welcomed with open arms, and provided them with all the facilities to discover their full potential, have proved to be "mercenaries" when it came to reaping financial rewards for their achievements.

Badminton ace Saina Nehwal and shooter Gagan Narang have suddenly discovered their "Haryana roots", to reap the hefty financial rewards offered by the State Government for sportspersons from the State, who won medals in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games.

Though Saina Nehwal's father, a scientist hailing from Hisar (Haryana), is employed in Hyderabad, the shuttler cut her badminton teeth in the Southern metropolis. For the past few years, she has been honing her skills at the Gopi Chand Academy, run by former national and All-England champion Pullela Gopichand. And Gopichand even got the Dronacharya Award for coaching her to many international titles.

Sadly, Saina also jumped into the Haryana bandwagon to claim the cash award from the State, though presently she is building a "dream house" in Hyderabad! A senior Hyderabad journalist noted caustically that it suited Gopichand to "adopt" a ready-made talent like Saina, instead of working on raw material, to mould them into champions.

But shooter Gagan Narang's case is curioser as he had never before professed his Haryana connection. Not even when he won his first international gold medal in the inaugural Afro-Asian Games at the Hyderabad University shooting range in 2003. Suddenly, he traced his mother's roots to Haryana, and collected a hefty amount of Rs 37.5 lakh from the Haryana Government, for his four-gold haul in the Commonwealth Games.

Sports officials and some senior journalists in Hyderabad feel that it's time the State Government took the lead to promote local sportspersons, now that a former cricketer,

Kiran Kumar Reddy, is heading the State Government. Like in other sports, cricket too had its fair share of outsiders who made a name playing for Hyderabad, then moved out to better pastures. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Abbas Ali Baig were two such India players who first donned the Hyderabad colours before playing for Delhi.

Now left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha, an Oriya settled in the city of pearls, is being promoted by the Hyderabad Cricket Association, like their own "son of the soil" VVS Laxman. The key man in the Hyderabad Cricket Association, secretary Shivlal Yadav, is also an "outsider", though his allegiance to the city cannot be challenged.

New Delhi, November 30
Jeev Milkha Singh has the airs of a wounded soldier around him. Irrespective of his injuries, the Chandigarh golfer is all set to ‘bash on regardless’. He also thinks he should join the army, to get his posture right, to rid him of the vexed injury list which will now keep him away from the Hero Honda Indian Open.

Arjun Atwal feeding a deer at the Delhi Golf Club on Tuesday. — TNS

“I can’t cut down,” was his reaction to whether he should lessen the number of tournaments he plays in a year. “It is not in my nature to cut back. But I am lucky that the injury came towards the end of the season and I will have five weeks to recover.”

The injury in question is basically some serious wear and tear of his vertebrae, which has been aggravated by a combination of too much golf (Jeev is one of the few golfers in the world to play on the US, European, Asian as well as the Japanese Tours) and too little recovery time, as also, according to the golfer, his ‘poor posture’.

“I think I need to join the army,” Jeev said with a smile. “My shoulders are drooping and the constant leaning over to play golf doesn’t help. Every specialist I have seen has expressed the opinion that I need to repair my posture. If I want to continue for another ten years, which I know I have in me, I need to get working on my posture and fitness.”

Jeev was extremely disappointed about not being able to play in the Indian Open. “This is an extremely important tournament for me, and has been over the years. It is like the fourth Major for me and I am very disappointed indeed that I am having to give it a miss.”

Arjun Atwal, on the other hand, is all set to take on the challenging Delhi Golf Club course when hostilities begin on December 2.

“While I haven’t practised too much, having been at home in Kolkata for the last two weeks, I am really looking forward to this,” said Atwal, who recently became the first Indian golfer to win on the US PGA Tour.

“The Indian Open will always be special to me,” Atwal added. “It was at my home course of Royal Calcutta Golf Club that I won the Indian Open in 1999 and that was also my first win on the Asian Tour.”

Barcelona, November 30
David Villa scored twice as Barcelona ripped Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid apart in a 5-0 rout Monday to go top of the standings thanks to a record fifth straight 'clasico' win over its bitter rival.

Xavi Hernandez and Pedro Rodriguez put the defending champion 2-0 ahead inside 18 minutes before Villa scored a second-half brace.

Substitute Jeffren Suarez scored in the 90th to seal it in front of nearly 100,000 fans at the Camp Nou stadium.

Barcelona's speed and quick-touch passing game frustrated Madrid throughout as it recorded its biggest national derby victory since a 5-0 win here during the 1993-94 season.

A miserable night for Madrid was compounded in the final seconds when Sergio Ramos was sent off for shoving Lionel Messi as the visiting side's frustrations boiled over.

Barcelona now leads Madrid by two points with 34 points from 13 games after a seventh straight league win.

Former Chelsea and FC Porto coach Mourinho suffered his worst ever loss to stay winless in six trips to Barcelona. He had never lost by more than three goals before.

The contrast with the Portuguese coach's last visit to the Camp Nou couldn't be more striking. In April, his Inter Milan side knocked the Catalans out of the Champions League in the semifinals on its way to winning the title.

Mourinho now has his work cut out to wrestle the league trophy away from Barcelona, the two-time defending champion, and return silverware to the Spanish capital. Madrid hadn't lost in 26 games, stretching to its last defeat by Barcelona in April. — AP

Dubai, November 30
Saluting the longevity of Sachin Tendulkar, West Indies great Brian Lara has described the Indian batting legend as the 'Don Bradman' of modern era but refused to the compare the icons of different eras.

Lara, himself a legendary left-handed batsman from the Caribbean, said what astonishes him the most about Tendulkar is his longevity.

"I don't think there is any race. Both are great players.

Tendulkar has shown the world what he is capable of and his longevity in the game is something to be really appreciated," Lara said.

"The time he will spend in the game, records are going to tumble. The fact that someone can be there from the age of 16 and still at the age of 37 perform brilliantly is something that I cherish more than anything else," he said.

The West Indies player is of the opinion that Australian great Don Bradman, who ended his career with an incredible Test average of 99.96, and Tendulkar should not be compared as they played and flourished in different eras.

"He is our period's Don Bradman. Forget the difference in averages with Bradman but whoever I have spoken to who have seen very old players in action, they believe that he [Bradman] would not have averaged 99 in today's cricket.

"So I believe that Sachin is our period's Bradman," Lara, who visited Dubai for a jewelry brand endorsement, told Gulf News.

Lara said he has just got back into cricket by playing three games in a Twenty20 tournament in Zimbabwe.

He also denied reports that he is becoming Zimbabwean coach but said he will be helping them in the batting department. He said he is fanatical about golf these days and spend time on the course. — PTI

Johannesburg, November 30
The controversial Umpire Decision Review System will not be used during India's Test tour of South Africa next month, coach Corrie van Zyl said.

Van Zyl said he was in favour of UDRS but the system will not be used in the Test series, given India's opposition to it.

"I like UDRS and it does eradicate a lot of decisions that are wrong, which can only be good for the game. But, we are not going to use it and that's the end of it," van Zyl said.

Implementation of UDRS in bilateral series depends upon the two playing countries and a CSA official also said the system will not be used in the three-match Test series starting on December 16 at Centurion.

"(We) will definitely not be using it. India are not keen to use it," an unnamed CSA official was quoted as saying. South Africa have used the UDRS in other home series, most recently against England in 2009-10, and coach van Zyl said he was not disappointed with the decision not to use it against India.

"I'm not disappointed, I almost knew it was not going to happen in any case, so it's not a major disappointment, and it will still be a very good series without it," van Zyl said.

South African skipper Graeme Smith was also in favour of using the UDRS consistently in all series.

India, who have used UDRS only once during a series in Sri Lanka in 2008, are strongly opposed to the system. UDRS has been used in Australia, South Africa, England, New Zealand and West Indies and has found support from several captains and players. — PTI 

Chandigarh, November 30
Ace-rallyist, Nawaz Sandhu from Chandigarh thrilled spectators to win the 7-lap all ladies Special Polo Cup race during the 5th Round of Polo Cup India 2010 held jointly by Volkswagen India and JK Tyre at the MMSC Irungattukottai Race Track, Sriperumbudur in Chennai - the heartland of Indian Motorsports - on Sunday. She had a best lap time of 1:14.623, at a speed of 178.5 km/h.

Bollywood actor Gul Panag also participated in the race.

The first Polo Cup race of the weekend was flagged-off by Gul Panag. The ladies special Polo Cup race was the finale to an already action-packed weekend. Along with Nawaz Sandhu, popular Indian racers Sarika Sherawat and Anita Kholay completed the top 3.

Behind the wheel of their Race Polos, the ladies wowed audiences with some fabulous driving skills, making for a truly exciting race. The galleries were filled with fans screaming at the top of their lungs, proof that Motorsports in India is no longer just for men. 

BRIEFLY

Daryl Tuffey ruled out of ODI series
JAIPUR: Already burdened by back injuries to skipper Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum, New Zealand today suffered yet another setback as their fast bowler Daryl Tuffey was ruled out of the ongoing ODI series against India due to a bicep strain. Tuffey, who took two for 56 in the five-ODI series opener in Guwahati on Sunday, will return home. But the visitors have not yet announced his replacement. "Daryl developed discomfort in his right bicep while he was playing but was able to manage it during the match. It appeared to be OK when he was bowling, but now he's unable to throw without pain so he will return home for further assessment and treatment," Mark Greatbatch, New Zealand's coach and selector, said in a statement.

Indian team can win Olympic medal in London: Brasa
New Delhi: The current Indian Hockey team has the potential to have a podium finish in the 2012 London Olympics but for this to happen the training system need to change, outgoing chief coach Jose Brasa said. After missing the Olympics for the first time in 80 years when the Games were held in Beijing in 2008, Asian games bronze medalist India will have to go through qualifiers to book a ticket for the next edition. "Forget about the qualifiers, this team is capable of winning a medal in Olympic. If they are trained properly with scientific method, adequate support staff with a sports psychologist, proper programme and modern equipments. None of these is available now," Brasa told PTI before leaving for Spain as his contract expires today. "If they maintain the same form, they can beat any team.

Pakistan to leave out tainted players from WC Squad
Karachi: Pakistan will miss the services of its top five players, including the suspended trio of Salman Butt, Mohammed Asif and Mohammed Aamer, in the upcoming cricket World Cup, sources said today. The sources said International Cricket Council (ICC) has advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to not include players under suspicion in its preliminary 30-member squad, which has to be finalised by December 19. The other two players, who are to likely to miss the bus are stumper Kamran Akmal and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria. — PTI

Silver medal has inspired us: Nabi
Kabul: The yellow metal might have eluded the Afghanistan cricket team at the just concluded Asian Games but the silver medal has inspired the players do try even harder and make it big in this sport. The team is currently training in Dubai for the Intercontinental Cup final against Scotland this week and the players are not ready to leave any stone unturned as they prepare for the final game. The captain of Afghan team Mohammad Nabi while expressing his discontent at not being able to bag the gold at the Asiad, said, "It was disappointing to lose the final of the Asian Games but silver medal has inspired us to try even harder for the International Cup. — PTI

IOC, BPCL split points
New Delhi: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) played out a 3-3 draw in the 21st Lal Bahadur Shastri Hockey Tournament at the National Stadium here today. BPCL, who trailed by a goal, hit back to take a 3-1 lead, but IOC rallied to neutralise. — TNS